Deeproot Druid
Sacred guardians of the Deeproot Tree, druids are fierce defenders of their revered realm. Powerful wielders of magic, and masters of both natural poisons and the healing arts, druids are cunning adversaries. Many can even assume animal forms when doing battle. Often when all else has failed, animal rage can overcome. Stats *'Type:' Half-Elf Hero *'Crystal Affinity: ' Ruby, Citrine *'Abilities:' Poison, Immune: Poison, Shapeshift: Angry Bear *'Unique Actions:' Stranglethorn, Briar Armor *'Potions:' Nourishing Berries *'Movement Points:' 7 *'Action Points:' 3 *'Strength:' 3B (Melee: 1) *'Armor:' 1B 1R (Defense) *'Willpower:' 3B (Magic: 6) *'Dexterity:' 1B 1R *'Hearts:' 5 *'Potion Quantity:' 1 Gameplay Stats: '''The Druid is a versatile WILL/STR Shapeshifter that specializes in debuffing. As a Druid, he has average offense of 3B WILL and below average defense of 1B1R ARM. The Druid deals Poison with every attack, increasing his value against elites and bosses. The Druid is immune to Poison, which gives him an advantage against monsters that rely on Poison and allows him to move into Bramble tile effects without being poisoned (but he still treats it as difficult terrain for movement). '''Abilities: Stranglethorn may be used to AOE weak monsters and Slow tougher monsters to keep them out of range of the heroes. The Druid's Poison also affects every model wounded by Stranglethorn. Briar Armor prior to SDE 2.0 may be used prior to shifting into Angry Bear to take advantage of the increased ARM for Backlash. In SDE 2.0, Heroes may only Shapeshift during a Hero's Upkeep, before the Druid may use Briar Armor, heavily reducing its value as the Druid has below average ARM. Druid vs. Bear: The Druid has the most value when the party needs AOE, Poison, Slow, ranged attacks, or access to the Druid's potion. He shines at debuffing multiple wound/action monsters and reduces their ability to engage and harm the heroes. Once the monsters are in melee range or the Druid chooses to engage, he can shift to Angry Bear for increased offense and defense stats. Angry Bear loses access to ranged Magic attack, Poison, AOE, Backlash, and his potion, but gains access to attacks that self buff STR and can deal Knockdown, Hex, and Immobile. Potion: Nourishing Berries grants every Hero the Healer ability and is tied to the drinking hero, so it only lasts until the drinking hero's next upkeep. Note that the Druid does not have any Red offensive dice to roll potions without equipment/buffs and can benefit from the potion as Angry Bear if another hero drinks the potion while he is in Druid form and then he activates and shifts to Angry Bear. Strategy: '''The Druid is extremely versatile as he can attack and AOE at range, debuff with Poison and Slow, heal the Party indirectly with '''Nourishing Berries, and shift into Angry Bear when it's time to engage in melee. Although the Deeproot Druid starts the game in Druid form, he can shift to Angry Bear and spend the rest of the match as Angry Bear if desired, but the Druid will tend to be more versatile with a ranged AOE attack along with dealing Poison with every attack. Whether to stay as a Druid or fight as Angry Bear may heavily depend on what equipment is available as the Druid will struggle unless he improves his WILL. Equipment/Buffs: 'The Druid's versatility allows him to benefit from almost every equipment and buff except DEX. Increasing the Druid's WILL will allow him to improve his magic attacks. Increasing ARM will improve his ability to Backlash. As a hybrid hero, it is very difficult for the Druid to become loot starved since he can benefit from almost everything, but if he doesn't focus on both WILL and STR, his shifted form will not be as effective. It is completely viable to gear expressly for WILL or STR. Improving WILL prioritizes staying in Druid form and using ranged, Poison attacks and AOE Slow. Improving STR prioritizes staying in Angry Bear form and using basic melee attacks or debuffing monsters with Hex, Immobilize, or Knockdown. '''Limitations: '''The Druid only has average offense so it is not uncommon for him to fail to wound monsters with unlucky rolls until he improves his WILL. His Poison is an asset against multiple wound/multiple action monsters, but doesn't help him defeat weaker mobs, and adds no value if the heroes are able to defeat multiple wound monsters in a single activation. He has below average ARM so if he is unable to Poison and Slow monsters to keep out of range, he can be quickly overwhelmed. As a hybrid hero, he may struggle to accrue enough WILL or STR to consistently roll enough Stars for Critical Success (in SDE 2.0). The value of his potion heavily depends on the dice available to the rest of the party, their luck at rolling Potions, and whether there are other potions that are more valuable than converting the Potion to a Heart. '''Party: '''The Druid/Angry Bear will typically need help buffing his WILL to consistently wound monsters until he has gear unless he shifts to Angry Bear. He pairs well with DEX heroes as they do not compete for gear. As a Druid, he pairs well with other ranged heroes since he can AOE slow mobs so the heroes can stay out or range. Otherwise, the Druid can typically fill either the STR or WILL offensive role in most parties. '''See Also: 'Deeproot Druid 2.0 '''Available Through Super Dungeon Explore: 1st EditionCategory:Heroes __NOEDITSECTION__